


She Rides on Light

by Urby



Series: We're Here (Shine-verse) [4]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon, Speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29246511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Urby/pseuds/Urby
Summary: Henriette tells a young Sharena a special story.
Series: We're Here (Shine-verse) [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940215
Comments: 6
Kudos: 22





	She Rides on Light

**Author's Note:**

> The Day of Devotion event is full of things I want to write about, but what about Henriette's special trigger lines tho
> 
> (A friend mentioned the "Henriette might be a valkyrie" headcanon (which, from what we understand, started circulating on Reddit) and then this whole thing unraveled itself over the course of an evening.)

Henriette kept the door to her study open because she knew the only people who would look for her there would be those she would welcome without question. It was a place for her thoughts, her books, and her family, if they wanted to spend time with her. These days, her little ones were grown enough not to need her to play, so she was once again growing accustomed to being able to work through her novels. It was at once lonely and relieving, but not unfamiliar.

Tonight, though, a little knock broke the silence, so she marked the page she was at and set her book aside. "Which of my darlings wishes to see me tonight?" she asked, smiling towards the door.

Her daughter appeared in the doorway, looking uncharacteristically sullen. She seemed to have spent the day training, but hadn't thought of tidying up before she dropped by. Her cadet uniform, borrowed from the Order of Heroes, was crisscrossed with dirt, and her braid was askew.

"Dearest Sharena! Come here, tell me about your adventures today," Henriette said, hoping that a warm reception would lift her daughter's spirits.

Sharena glanced up at her, but only for a little moment. She approached with her eyes on the carpet. Henriette knelt, holding her arms open so that Sharena didn't have to wait to be wrapped up in a hug.

"What are princesses for?" Sharena asked.

Henriette blinked at the question, but was careful not to hesitate overmuch. "Princesses are clever and bright and bring joy to others," she said. "But a princess needs no reason or permission to be."

Sharena did not say anything else for a long while, so Henriette scooped her up and walked over to the sitting area by the window. The couch was warm, having drunk the day's sun, and she laid Sharena's favorite cushion on her lap as they had a seat. Sharena allowed her mother to lay her head on the cushion, frowning at nothing.

"Will you tell me what's gotten you upset?" Henriette asked. She gently unraveled Sharena's braid as she waited.

"Alfonse and I were practicing swords, and he hit me," Sharena touched the side of her arm. "Here. It hurt a lot but I got better, but then Father found us. Father wants Alfonse and I to stop playing Heroes...I told him we're not _playing_ but he didn't listen. And Alfonse tried to say the same thing, but Father...Father said that he should think about what it means to be a prince..." 

Henriette frowned, but didn't interrupt.

"And then Father took away my sword, because princesses in Askr needn't fight, he said."

Henriette was glad Sharena was busy staring ahead, because she could not help but grimace, briefly, at such a thought. "I will have a talk with Father, and if you promise to be careful, I will return your sword. Would you like that?"

"I don't even like swords," Sharena flexed her feet. "I wanted to practice with my lance but Alfonse wanted swords so we tried swords today."

"Well, then will you promise me you'll be careful with your lance? Alfonse might have hit you, but he didn't mean for it to hurt."

Sharena stared ahead.

"Do you think Father would take away my lance, too?" she asked after a long moment. "Even if I was careful?"

Henriette released the unraveled braid and put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Mother will have a talk with Father. He has many things to think about, but he forgets important things sometimes. I'm sure he will remember how important your lance is to you if I remind him."

Sharena made to sit up, and Henriette lifted her hands to give her room. Sharena moved into her mother's lap, hugging her favorite cushion to her chest. "Could you tell me a story?" she asked.

"Of course. Mother will tell you any story you like," Henriette said, running patient fingers through the tangles in her daughter's hair.

"Tell me one where the girl is the hero."

"Hmm!"

"There _are_ stories where girls are heroes, aren't there?" Sharena asked, looking up with pleading eyes.

"Of course there are, my dear. And you know those stories well," Henriette said. "There is Lyndis, of the plains; Celica, the wise and brave; Minerva and her Whitewings..."

"But those are of Worlds far away," Sharena said. "Tell me a story about a girl from Zenith who is a hero."

Ah, that was a bit of a challenge. Not that there weren't historical women of note in Zenith, but Henriette was unused to painting them in heroic light and spinning tales about them.

"I don't even care if the story is sad," Sharena added quickly, removing one of her usual conditions for story-time. "I just want to hear about a girl who is the hero, who fights for good."

"Well then! Perhaps you can help me out? Tell me about our hero, Sharena," Henriette offered, beaming.

"Mother, I don't want to _make up_ a story tonight. I want to hear you _tell_ one," Sharena said, full of childish frustration that her mother could not understand something so simple.

Henriette rested her daughter's head against her breast, sighing quietly. "Alright. I will tell you a story about a valkyrie," she said, her voice tender and soft. "In the heavens of Asgard, there live a group of mighty and beautiful women, the valkyries. Sisters-in-arms, they serve the lord of all gods, bringing him warriors after they fight their last battle. But, they are not merely guides for the fallen: the valkyries were all warriors in their own right, strong and swift, perhaps greater than any of the mightiest Heroes in all the Worlds. They were trusted as arbiters in a great many things."

"Mother, what is an _arbiter_?" Sharena asked.

"Like a judge, or an authority," Henriette said. Sharena seemed content with that explanation, falling quiet again. "The valkyries all knew and loved each other like sisters, treating each other and the warriors they brought to the heavens with respect.

"One day, on one of her flights, one of the valkyries spied a young warrior in the land of mortals. She watched him for a time. He was far from the fields of battle, but he fought so valiantly and his spirit burned so brightly that the valkyrie was captivated. And so, she told her sisters she wanted to know more about him, and flew down to Zenith."

Sharena pouted, sinking her chin against her cushion. "I don't want to hear about the warrior, Mother," she muttered. "Tell me more about the valkyrie."

"But I am! It is her story, after all," Henriette tapped Sharena's cheek until she straightened. "The valkyrie, disguised as a mortal, joined the warrior as a friend. He told her that a mighty foe was threatening his kingdom, and he worried he would not be strong enough to save his people. The kingdom was vastly outnumbered. And so the valkyrie was faced with a decision, for she had always watched over the battles of mortals, only swooping down when the fighting had ended. She anticipated the battle would be short, but bloody, and not even the warrior's bright spirit would last such a fight.

"The valkyrie decided, then, that she would fight by the warrior's side, for she could not bear to see such a spirit cut down, even if it were to join the heavens. She could not bear to see his kingdom fall. When the foe marched upon the warrior's kingdom, the valkyrie charged into battle alongside him. As one of the mighty valkyries, her strength was unmatched by any man on the battlefield. She protected him, defeating enemy after enemy. None could touch her, for she was too swift, too cunning, too strong."

Sharena's grip on her cushion was tight. Henriette tucked an arm around her daughter, bringing her closer.

"The valkyrie...fought without rest. She needed none, being from the heavens. She fought to protect the warrior whose spirit had captivated her, that she wanted to keep aflame, stopping at nothing...until the warrior's blade halted her advance."

"Why would he stop her?" Sharena asked.

"Because, in her battle-rage, the valkyrie had completely and utterly destroyed the enemy," Henriette explained. "She could see the shadows of her sisters, the other valkyries, carrying away the spirits of the warriors she had cut down long before they were meant to join the heavens. The warrior told her she need fight no longer, and begged that she stop. His kingdom was safe, and no one else needed to die.

"The valkyrie realized, in the end, the bloody battle she had anticipated had come to pass. That was an outcome she could not change. But her warrior had survived, and so did his kingdom."

"She saved the kingdom," Sharena said.

"Yes, but at great cost. When the valkyrie realized what she had done, she decided that she would remain in Zenith, making amends for every life she had taken too soon. The warrior helped ease the weight on her heart, and she stayed by his side, though she did not draw her heavenly weapons again. Eventually, her heart felt light enough that she fell in love with the warrior, and the two of them started a family in the safety of his kingdom."

"And was the valkyrie happy with her family?"

"Yes, she was very happy," Henriette said with confidence. "She loved her family and her new kingdom with all of her heart's strength."

"Her love was stronger than anything!" Sharena beamed, kicking her feet. Henriette managed a half-smile as she considered if she should tell the story's end.

"Did the valkyrie's sisters ever come to visit?"

"Ah, no. They stayed in Asgard, where they belonged," Henriette said. "The valkyrie did miss them, but she felt their love always."

Sharena gave her mother a big hug, and Henriette returned it with all the warmth she felt.

"Did you like the story, my dear?"

"I did! I've never heard you tell that story before, Mother."

"Yes, well, Mother has many stories," Henriette said.

Sharena looked up, her eyes aglow with excitement. "Will you tell me more stories about the valkyrie?"

"Perhaps! But, you should wash up before dinner. You know your father would be upset if you're still dressed like that while we're eating. Come, I will help you," Henriette said, standing.

"Did the valkyrie use a lance, Mother?" Sharena asked, practically bouncing as she followed her out of the study.

"Hm...do you think so? Perhaps she used a tome!" Henriette said, keeping doors open for her daughter as they made their way through the castle.

"But tomes are so hard to use!" Sharena declared. "They're too complicated for their own good!"

"They are, I will admit."

"If the valkyrie used a lance, she could protect everyone," Sharena went on, miming a few parries in the air. "Everyone in her family and her kingdom!"

"Hmm! Maybe the valkyrie doesn't know how to use a lance, but if you continue your studies carefully, you could teach her," Henriette suggested. Sharena became absolutely radiant at such an idea, and could hardly keep still while her mother tried to clean her up.

The end of that story could wait, Henriette decided. After all, she wasn't entirely sure about how it would go. The warrior, mortal as he was, would eventually pass away, and the valkyrie would see his spirit brought up to the heavens with the help of her sisters. And, though Henriette knew the valkyrie's heart would ache at such a loss, she had a feeling the valkyrie would stay in the land of mortals, for her love had grown lush and rich, spreading far beyond one man.

Such love was a lesson she wanted to impart to her daughter, certainly, but now was not the time.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates feedback, including:
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * Constructive criticism
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> This author sees and appreciates all comments, and may sit upon them like a contented dragon for a long while before responding.


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